Members of the Bethesda Foundation Board of Directors join administrative officers of St. James Hospital in celebrating the construction of the new hospital on Seneca Road. The Bethesda Foundation committed $250,000 toward the project.

In 2019, the Bethesda Foundation undertook the largest single project in its more than 30-year history, pledging $250,000 to St. James Mercy Hospital and its affiliate institution, The University of Rochester Medical Center.



“It’s a huge amount,” said Bethesda Foundation President Lynn Blades. “The biggest single grant the Bethesda Foundation has ever awarded.”

The Foundation’s long-term commitment allowed for the construction of a covered walkway connecting the main hospital facility to adjacent medical offices. The grant also supported additional features of the Seneca Road facility, which opened in 2020 and replaced the former St. James Hospital on the south side of Hornell.

Brian O’Donovan, then-president and chief executive officer of St. James Hospital, called the grant “an amazing contribution” that illustrated the local community’s commitment to supporting a local hospital.

Rob Price, executive director of The Bethesda Foundation, calls St. James Hospital “the crown jewel” of healthcare services in the Canisteo valley.

“Without this local hospital, primary health in the Hornell area care would suffer,” Price said. “This grant is a measure of the Bethesda Foundation’s commitment to local healthcare services.”

The Bethesda Foundation supports health related activities in the geographic area served by the original Bethesda Hospital. Since the Foundation’s inception, in 1986, it has awarded nearly $3 million to regional healthcare organizations.